April 7, 1957

Richland (Columbia County) native T. W. Hardison died. Hardison is known as the founder of the Arkansas state park system, though he was also renowned in the disparate areas of archaeology, resource conservation, community service, natural and cultural history, and literature. His wife died a year later, and their son sprinkled their commingled ashes over Petit Jean Mountain, where the couple had lived and worked since 1910.